General Books

Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope

Nikki Grimes

Amazon Price: $11.55 List Price: $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 44 new & used starting at $10.63

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> History & Historical Fiction -> United States -> Fiction -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Voted third party 1 out of 5 stars.
10 of 13 people found this review helpful.

You have GOT to be kidding me???? There is something seriously wrong with any parent that would give this god-king worship book to a child. I fear for anyone that focuses this much adoration towards a man. I fear for any nation that adores a leader to this extent. Lets pull our heads out of the clouds people.

Editorial Review:

Ever since Barack Obama was young, Hope has lived inside him. From the beaches of Hawaii to the streets of Chicago, from the jungles of Indonesia to the plains of Kenya, he has held on to Hope. Even as a boy, Barack knew he wasn't quite like anybody else, but through his journeys he found the ability to listen to Hope and become what he was meant to be: a bridge to bring people together.

This is the moving story of an exceptional man, as told by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Bryan Collier, both winners of the Coretta Scott King Award. Barack Obama has motivated Americans to believe with him, to believe that every one of us has the power to change ourselves and change our world.

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out

Amazon Price: $19.79 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Candlewick Amazon Marketplace: 63 new & used starting at $12.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> History & Historical Fiction -> United States -> Fiction -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

More than one hundred leading authors and illustrators donate their talents in a creative tour de force that is making history.

Conceived and co-created by the National Children's Book and Literary Alliance, this incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, and poetry melds with an equally stunning array of original art to offer a multifaceted look at America's history through the prism of the White House. Starting with a 1792 call for designers to plan a presidential mansion and continuing through the present day, OUR WHITE HOUSE takes in everything from the amusing antics of presidents' children and pets to the drama of the White House ablaze and the specter of war; from the role of immigrants, African Americans, and Native Americans to the thoughts and actions of many presidents themselves. These highly engaging writings and illustrations, expressing varied viewpoints and interwoven with key historical events, are a vital resource for family sharing and classroom use — and a stirring reminder that the story of the White House is the story of every American.

Samantha: An American Girl (The American Girls Collection/Boxed Set)

Susan S. Adler

Amazon Price: $26.37 List Price: $39.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: American Girl Publishing Inc Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $9.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> History & Historical Fiction -> United States -> Fiction -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great Sreies of Books 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

My daughter is nine years old and has been enjoying all the American Girl books since she was seven. We have purchased several sets from Amazon and only one set has had an issue (got two of one book). The books are great for girls that age and are not only fun for them to read but educational as well. I would reccomend them to anyone with a girl age 7-10.

An American Girl (Samantha) 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

"An American Girl"
"Samantha"

This is a series!!! I have had these books for about 5 years! I love them!! I have read them over and over again!!!
It was cool because the first time I read them what ever happened in the book happened to me! It was kind of weird!! But fun!!
I also loved it because my name is Samantha and I felt like I was in the book! It was the most fun I have ever had reading a book!
I would recommend these books to EVERYONE! Because they are so cool and they seem really real! You don't have to read the Samantha ones you can read all different kinds of girls like Melissa and there is just a whole bunch of stories!
Thanks for reading my review!


Reviewed by
Sammi Carter

Editorial Review:

The American Girls Collection. This is Samantha. There are 6 books about Samantha and her family and friends.

Bud, Not Buddy

Christopher Paul Curtis

List Price: $14.47 By: Book Wholesalers Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $10.41

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( C ) -> Curtis, Christopher Paul -> Hardcover

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 463 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

It's 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but Bud's got a few things going for him:

1. He has his own suitcase filled with his own important, secret things.

2. He's the author of Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself.

3. His momma never told him who his father was, but she left a clue: flyers of Herman E. Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!!

Bud's got an idea that those flyers will lead him to his father. Once he decides to hit the road and find this mystery man, nothing can stop him--not hunger, not fear, not vampires, not even Herman E. Calloway himself.

Bud, Not Buddy is full of laugh-out-loud humor and wonderful characters, hitting the high notes of jazz and sounding the deeper tones of the Great Depression. Once again Christopher Paul Curtis, author of the award-winning novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963, takes readers on a heartwarming and unforgettable journey.

Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl

Scholastic Inc.

Amazon Price: $5.99 List Price: $5.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Scholastic Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $1.12

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> History & Historical Fiction -> United States -> Colonial & Revolutionary

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Valerie Wisniewski 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the life of a Pilgrim Girl and its partner books about Samuel Eaton a Pilgrim boy and Tapenum"s Day about a Wampanoag Indian boy are excellent. I used all three in teaching about Massachusetts history. The books are well researched. The setting is Plymouth Plantation where reenactors wear authentic clothing and use authentic reproductions of tools, furniture, etc. The books depict children's work, play, families, homes and clothing. The books should be in every school library.

Brings history to life! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrom Girl is an exceptional teaching tool for the young "history detectives" in your circle. Textbooks are never enough. What better way to understand that the "story" of history happened to real people who looked just like us, had needs and families just like us, but lived a different lifestyle because of the time in which they lived.

Follow this up with a visit to a museum, and the story of our history becomes very real!

This is a wonderful book, and I highly recommend it.

Editorial Review:

Text and photographs of Plimouth Plantation follow a pilgrim girl through a typical day as she milks the goats, cooks and serves meals, learns her letters, and adjusts to her new stepfather.

Revolutionary War On Wednesday (Magic Tree House 22, paper)

Mary Pope Osborne

Amazon Price: $3.99 List Price: $3.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 221 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great Book! Ignore the Bad Reviews if you just want your kids to enjoy reading and be read to!!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

COME ON PEOPLE! First of all this book and the entire series is meant for KIDS NOT ADULTS so go with the flow. Imagine you are a boy or girl who is 5 or 6 and is just starting to enjoy stories and reading. You will love it! The whole point of a book is to have children begging for more. This book and the series does just that! ENOUGH SAID! My 5 yr old loves this book and as a result he has become interested in American History. This appetite he has led us to purchase many more books on history. In my opinion, the book has accomplished what I wanted. AN INTEREST IN LEARNING! AN INTEREST IN HISTORY! AND AN INTEREST IN READING! The text should be simple! The text should be silly at times! Thank you to Mary Pope Osborne for creating a wonderful series which I believe has turned my child into a history buff eager to learn everything about America!

Editorial Review:

The Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie back to Colonial America. They arrive just as General george Washington is planning the crossing of the Delaware. Before they know it, Jack and Annie are in a boat with the Father of Our Country as history is made!

Christmas in the Big Woods (Little House)

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperTrophy Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $3.19

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( W ) -> Wilder, Laura Ingalls

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Lighten up a little! 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I really love the "official" Little House books. My four year-old likes me to read them a little at a time, but the illustrations are black and white, and she likes seeing the color illustrations. These books are a very good way to introduce little ones to Laura's world, get them interested, and THEN start reading the original Little House books. The people who are fussing over the books need to chill a little - these are meant to be an intro to Laura;s world, not the end-all and be-all. Y'all know that Laura Wilder would be laughing uproariously at all this fussing, btw.

Editorial Review:

Long ago, a little girl named Laura Ingalls lived in a little house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters, Mary and Carrie, and their good old bulldog, Jack. Winter was just around the corner, and Laura worked hard to help make the little house ready for the cold days ahead. Soon there was frost on the windows and snow on the ground, but Laura and her folks were warm and cozy in their snug little house in the Big Woods.

Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books have been cherished by generations of readers. Now for the first time, the youngest readers can share her adventures in these very special picture books adapted from Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved storybooks. Renée Graef's warm paintings, inspired by Garth Williams' classic Little House illustrations, bring Laura and her family lovingly to life.

Samuel Eaton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy

Kate Waters

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Scholastic Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $2.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> History & Historical Fiction -> United States -> Fiction -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Values for today from a tale of 1627 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.

This is a wonderful, wonderful book. It will help you teach your children about hard work, perseverance, and family. My children want it read to them again and again.

Young Samuel Eaton (a historical character) is looking forward to his first chance to help his father bring in the crops. He finds the work incredibly hard, and the coarse grain raises bad blisters on his hands. But he perseveres, and at the end of the day when his father tells him "you did a man's work today, Samuel," we feel his pride.

Masterfully written, beautifully photographed, this is a gem in every way.

An excellent book for learning about life as a pilgrim boy! 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

This book took us back to 1627. We learned all about Samuel Eaton's first day as a man. He told us all about the hard work he had to do in the fields. It was so interesting to read a story that used different words from long ago. The pictures were awesome! They showed us the clothing the pilgrims wore, what their house looked like, and the hard work everybody did. We thought it would be difficult to be a pilgrim boy! We think everyone should read this book because you can learn a lot about how the pilgrims lived. Read this wonderful book!

Editorial Review:

When the day in which he is to help with his first rye harvest approaches, young Samuel Eaton is so excited that he can hardly sleep, but his blistering tasks prove harder than expected. Reprint. H. SLJ.

The Luxe

Anna Godbersen

Amazon Price: $9.99 List Price: $9.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperCollins Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $4.34

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> History & Historical Fiction -> United States -> Fiction -> 1800s
Subjects -> Children's Books -> History & Historical Fiction -> United States -> Fiction -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Girls & Women -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 54 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn.
Irresistible boys with mischievous smiles and dangerous intentions.
White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups.
This is Manhattan, 1899.

Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan's social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City's elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone—from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud—threatens Elizabeth's and Diana's golden future.

With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city's gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan's most celebrated daughter disappear...

In a world of luxury and deception, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, five teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Elizabeth George Speare

By: Dell Pub Co Amazon Marketplace: 4 new & used starting at $3.35

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> History & Historical Fiction -> United States -> Fiction -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 383 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Classic 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I originally read this way back in jr. high and sadly only remember being entranced by it--not recalling any of the plot. I finally got around to the rereading and recalled why I had the original feeling of enchantment. This is one good book.

Kit Tyler is a sixteen-year-old girl who leaves Barbados after her grandfather's death for the more austere world of Puritan New England to say with her aunt's family. But Kit is completely unprepared for the ways of these people. Even so, she manages to grow in unimaginable ways as she connects with people with whom she would have never seen herself.

And it's not a simple moralistic book. It's a book about a girl coming of age. Unlike other books of the Puritans, there are no villains, just those who are different and it's amazing to see Kit come to understand that.

The characters are entrancing and dimensional, the setting is described in an honest prose that only shows Speare's love of New England.

It deserves its Newberry.